Chapter 18: The West Texas Wars Gallery Walk Chapter 18: The West Texas Wars

After the Medicine Lodge Creek Treaty… 1 After the Medicine Lodge Creek Treaty… Reports of Indians, who had refused to leave the Plains, reached Fort Sill that some Native Americans still raided settlements. General William Tecumseh Sherman decided to travel west and investigate the situation himself. Sherman and other officials believed that the reports of Native American attacks were exaggerated.

The Warren Wagon Train Raid Jacksboro On May 18, 1871, while Sherman was at Fort Richardson at Jacksboro, they attacked a wagon train traveling along the same route Sherman had taken the day before. In the attack near Salt Creek, the Native Americans killed seven people, though five escaped. The attackers then returned to the reservation with captured mules and supplies. Henry Warren owned the wagon train, so the encounter became known as the Warren Wagon Train Raid or Massacre. 2

The Warren Wagon Trail Raid... 3 The Warren Wagon Trail Raid... Sherman ordered federal agents to question Native Americans about the Warren attack. Satanta, a Kiowa leader, admitted that he had helped lead the raid. Sherman ordered Satanta and two others, Big Tree and Satank, arrested and tried for murder. Satanta Big Tree Satank

GUILTY GUILTY 4 Aftermath of the Raid Three Native American leaders were taken into custody at Fort Sill in the Indian Territory. On the way to Texas, Satank tried to escape and was killed. Big Tree and Satanta were found guilty in a Texas court and sentenced to be hanged. GUILTY 4

EXECUTING NATIVE AMERICANS MAY CAUSE WAR! After the Raid… Satanta used his orator skills to tell the courts about the problems Native Americans faced. Governor Edmund Davis worried that executing the Native American leaders would cause a war. The Kiowa ended their raids, and two years later, the leaders were set free from their life sentence in prison because of their people’s peaceful behavior. Satanta, however, took part in more raids in 1874 and was arrested again. He took his own life in prison four years later. Satanta 5

Sherman’s attitude changed… 6 Sherman’s attitude changed… The Warren Wagon Trail Raid changed Sherman’s attitude about the Native Americans in West Texas. He knew the peace policy had not worked and that the forts in the area could not protect settlers. Sherman now ordered U.S. troops to pursue any Native Americans not living on reservations and destroy their camps.

Early Campaigns and the Buffalo Mackenzie Early Campaigns and the Buffalo In the early 1870s, U.S. troops began operations against those Native Americans who were not on the reservations. Anglo American buffalo hunters were slaughtering the buffalo that Native Americans depended on for survival. In 1871 Colonel Ranald S. Mackenzie was given command of a force charged with driving Native Americans from the Plains onto reservations. Mackenzie focused his efforts on the Rio Grande were the Kickapoo and Apache were attacking settlements on both sides of the river. 7

Destroying Buffalo Herds 8 Destroying Buffalo Herds Buffalo was the main source of food and other goods for the Native Americans on the Plains. The horns were used as spoons and sinews were turned into thread and bowstrings. Even skulls were used for religious ceremonies. By the early 1870s, this way of life changed with traders.

The Government Supports the Slaughter 9 The Government Supports the Slaughter Some understood that buffalos were important to the way of life. There was a law proposed in Texas to protect the buffalo. However, the U.S. government recognized the slaughter of the buffalo was an important tactic in subduing the Native Americans. In 1875, General Philip Sheridan testified against the proposed law because he supported white hunters. By 1877, only few buffalo remained in Texas. Native Americans had to change their way of life.

The End of the Fighting in West Texas 10 Native Americans grew more frustrated and increased their attacks on settlements in the West. The army gained men, supplies, and experience for their campaign against the Plains peoples.

Adobe Walls 11 Quanah Parker planned a surprise attack on a small camp of buffalo hunters in the Panhandle at a site called Adobe Walls. Leading 700 fighters – Only 28 buffalo hunters and one woman were at the camp, but they were armed. Quanah Parker followed the vision of a Comanche medicine man and found his prediction of no one getting injured to be untrue. Frustrated by the loss, Native Americans increased their attacks in West Texas. In September 1874, a band of Kiowa and Comanche attacked two scouts and four troopers during the Buffalo Wallow Fight. Every man was wounded and one trooper was killed.

12 The Red River Campaign President Grant put the army in charge of Native American affairs in West Texas. Native Americans were required to register on the reservations. About 4,000 did not register (Kiowa, Comanche, and Cheyenne who moved into the canyons and valleys in the Texas Panhandle) General Sherman’s plan to destroy the roaming bands came from five different directions. Army officers hoped to trap the Native Americans in canyons from which they could not escape.

Palo Duro Canyon Native Americans camped in Palo Duro Canyon. In September 1874, Colonel Mackenzie led a cavalry unit down the steep canyon walls. The U.S. troops surprised the Native Americans, burned serval villages and destroyed more than 1,000 horses. This loss crippled the Native Americans. The last band of Comanche, including Quanah Parker, surrendered at Fort Sill in June 1875. Central and West Texas were mostly safe for settlers, and many more quickly moved into the area. Native Americans were rarely seen again on the Texas plains. A few groups continued to fight along the Rio Grande, but that conflict lasted just a few years. 13

Image Sites https://www.google.com/search?q=william+tecumseh+sherman&biw=667&bih=514&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=0ahUKEwik55ruro7SAhWS14MKHS- vAAsQ_AUIBigB#imgrc=62V0Ze2bLTNeqM: http://coloradogambler.com/trails-end-150-years-ago-indian-raids-julesburg/ https://www.tourtexas.com/texas-maps/map-of-texas-cities http://www.printsoldandrare.com/oldwest/ https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orso_Bianco_(capo_indiano) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Tree_(war_chief) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sitting_Bear http://civilwartalk.com/threads/union-brig-general-andrew-jackson-hamilton-born-in-alabama-resident-of-texas.88447/ http://www.thousandwonders.net/Palo+Duro+Canyon+State+Park https://www.pinterest.com/pin/413205334545994962/ http://personalized-odysseys.com/culture-shock/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rio_Grande_Project